How to Onboard a Cultivator Profile

Why blog about onboarding? It’s a bit dull and the deal is done by then, isn’t it?

It’s far from done! This is where the hard work begins.

Get the onboarding wrong and there’s a strong risk of the candidate not settling in and you may well have the right candidate but you lost them because the onboarding was poor – this is preventable.

We use a platform called Contribution Compass to guide our onboarding towards a successful integration. Being @Paul Avins’ Team Coach I understand this stuff at a deep level.

How do we do that?

We invite the employer to profile the role and we profile the candidate against the role and we can tell the employer with a reasonable amount of certainty how they are most likely to show up at work and what their preferences will be before they pitch up and start work with you.

I’ll look at the 8 different profile types – all different people and all of which need to be treated in a different way.

Next up is the CULTIVATOR profile.

• Help them to establish a routine to their week by suggesting a plan of action for the day/week ahead. Leave some flexibility for them to fine tune this. Always be referring to the “plan”; cultivators are great planners. Reiterate why this role is so important to the business.
• You will get someone grounded, realistic, date-driven and efficient. A natural systems refiner who will help to guide and shape the team through subtle influence. They will sense risk and understand warning signs with their “spidey sense”.
• They can clash with people with high activating energy who don’t necessarily want the “real” picture. They don’t do well being rushed but they will know if the team aren’t coping with pace and risking burnout.
• Show them the difference they are making and how valued their planning & organising is. You don’t need to make a fuss over this as they will not welcome the attention.

How do you keep them engaged and upgrade them?

• They are at their best on mid to long term projects, where effective planning over time is the order of the day.
• Don’t land things on them at the drop of a hat.
• Allow them to plan and value their pace. Sometimes, slowing down is beneficial for a business, and cultivators excel at this.

Power summary

• Help them to establish a routine
• Give them as much detail in advance of starting
• They want to be able to control final outcomes
• They are slow, deliberate and cautious
• Show them the difference they are making (without trumpets)

Do you need a Cultivator on your team or are you about to onboard someone like this and you’re not sure?

Email me gbrown@forcesrecruitment.co.uk if you’d like to find out or if you would like a full copy of my FREE onboarding guide to see how ALL profile types engage.